   
CEO Picks - The best that international journalism has to offer!
 S69Is Guatemala About to See an Upset Win for Democracy?   The Presidential election in Guatemala, which will be decided on Sunday, in a second and final round of voting, initially appeared to be over before it began. Within two months of the start of the race, at least three prominent candidates had already been disqualified by the country’s electoral tribunal. Two were conservatives and the third, Thelma Cabrera, a leftist, was the only Indigenous candidate effectively in the running—in a country where more than forty per cent of the population is Maya. What each of the candidates had in common was that none sat well with the political establishment. The tribunal’s reasoning was technical and dubious—in short, it was typical of the government of Alejandro Giammattei, a conservative surgeon with a sagging approval rating, whose time in office has been marred by allegations of corruption and the entrenchment of special interests. (By law, he cannot run for a second term.)Among the remaining candidates, the establishment favorites going into the first round, in June, were Zury Ríos, the daughter of a former dictator, and Sandra Torres, an ideologically malleable figure who’s run for President twice before. Ríos previously faced a ban on running, because her father, General Efraín Ríos Montt, had taken the Presidency by force. (He came to power in a coup, in 1982; was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, in 2013, for his role in the massacre of Indigenous villagers during the early nineteen-eighties; and died, in 2018, at the age of ninety-one.) The constitution barred the immediate relatives of coup leaders from executive office, but Ríos secured an exception. Torres is the ex-wife of former President Álvaro Colom, who died earlier this year, while under house arrest facing corruption charges. He and Torres divorced in 2011, because of a legal prohibition on spouses following their partners into the Presidency. In 2019, she was arrested for violating campaign-finance laws, but the case was later dismissed. Guatemalans of diverse political persuasions use a single phrase to explain how such people become front-runners: el pacto de corruptos, the pact of the corrupt.
Continued here
|
S1Spell Against Indifference  Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.I was a latecomer to poetry — an art form I did not understand and, as we tend to do with what we do not understand, discounted. But under its slow seduction, I came to see how it shines a sidewise gleam on the invisible and unnameable regions of being where the truest truths dwell, the most difficult and the most beautiful; how it sneaks in through the backdoor of consciousness to reveal us more fully to ourselves; how it gives us an instrument for paying attention, which is how we learn to love the world more.When I first began writing poetry, it was privately, almost secretly, certainly shyly. But I have come to see that while poetry may be a language for the silent places in us, it is also a language of connection — a way of finding the intimate in the universal and the universal in the intimate — and so it is meant to be shared.
Continued here
|
S2 Who Should Price a Gig?  Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.Arriving at Boston’s Logan International Airport after a tiring journey, Mia opened the Uber app to find a ride home. Her relief at seeing the message “Your Uber driver is arriving in 3 minutes” was short-lived because the driver canceled. In the next 30 minutes, half a dozen Uber drivers accepted her ride request, then canceled, before one eventually arrived. What was happening?
Continued here
|
S3Fifa 2023 Women's World Cup: 'Good, queer joy' on and off the pitch  Immediately after winning the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup game against the Netherlands, now-retired champion Megan Rapinoe ran towards the sidelines and kissed her long-time girlfriend, WNBA star Sue Bird. The moment was seen around the world – and it took the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community to a new level.Rapinoe is not the first openly gay football player – that was Lily Parr in the 1920s – and more than 96 athletes in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup are out today. Experts and viewers alike say the door has increasingly swung open for LGBTQ+ athletes to express their true selves.
Continued here
|
S4The untold story of London's original fast food  In the 1740s, pleasure boaters would jauntily sail from central London down the River Thames to an islet once known as Twickenham Ait in Richmond, mooring at an inn that had built a reputation across the city for selling just one thing: eel pies.Eel Pie House was the grand tavern's name, and punting parties would drift along the shore and then congregate for merry picnics on the riverside. Inside, the inn's chefs would skin, debone and trim batches of Thames eels into three-inch chunks, before stewing them ready for pastry and the pie oven.
Continued here
|
S5Rich Men North of Richmond: The hit song that has divided the US  In the culture wars that continue to divide US politics, the right wing may have found its latest hero in Oliver Anthony, whether he likes it or not. Last week, Anthony's song Rich Men North of Richmond, which criticises Washington and big government, dropped on a West Virginia radio station's YouTube channel and the unknown singer-songwriter became a viral sensation with more than two million views over two days and more than 20 million so far. In the roughly produced video, Anthony, a burly guy with a big red beard and a guitar, stands in a wooded area, looking and sounding like an everyday blue-collar worker. "I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day/ Overtime hours for bullshit pay," he sings. "It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to/ For people like me and people like you." More like this:- Can a parody song top the charts?- The film that has divided the US- The erotic drama too hot for the US censors
Continued here
|
S6Tropical Storm Hilary pounds Southern California with heavy rain, flash flooding  Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall on Mexico’s Baja peninsula and moved into Southern California with damaging wind and heavy rainfall on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Forecasters warned of a “potentially historic amount of rainfall” and dangerous flooding. California’s governor declared a state of emergency on Saturday, and officials had urged people on Catalina Island and in other high-risk areas to evacuate. Nevada’s governor declared a state of emergency on Sunday.Hurricane scientist Nick Grondin explained ahead of landfall how the storm, with help from El Niño and a heat dome over much of the country, could bring flash flooding, wind damage and mudslides to the U.S. Southwest.
Continued here
|
S7Zimbabwe's president was security minister when genocidal rape was state policy in 1983-4. Now he seeks another term  Zimbabwe will hold its elections on 23 August. The current president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is running for re-election. This is despite his having oversight in the execution of the genocide of a minority group of Zimbabweans in the south-west region, as evidenced in my newly published study. My latest study explores a military operation, known as Gukurahundi, between 1983 and 1984 in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands in Zimbabwe. Drawing on 36 in-depth interviews with survivors, my study provides new insights into Operation Gukurahundi. It identifies systematic patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the operation.
Continued here
|
S8Ozempic, the 'miracle drug,' and the harmful ideaof a future without fat  We’ve encountered these headlines before. Time and again, dubious and ineffective solutions for obesity gain prominence. Pills, tonics, elixirs, Zumba, Noom and now Ozempic. The latest wonder drug is a semaglutide drug invented to help diabetics regulate blood glucose levels, but has the notable side-effect of severe weight loss. It has been heralded by many to culminate in the elimination of fat bodies.
Continued here
|
S9S10S11'Care' economy to balloon in an Australia of 40.5 million: Intergenerational Report  Australia’s care economy could increase from its present about 8% of GDP to about 15% in 40 years, according to the government’s Intergenerational Report, to be released by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Thursday.The projections say in four decades’ time Australians will be living longer, with more years in good health - but the larger cohort of aged people will increase the need for care.
Continued here
|
S12Fewer than 1 in 5 students who are behind in Year 3 catch up and stay caught up  We want all students to finish school with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to take advantage of post-school opportunities and to participate fully in society. Currently, in Australia, many students don’t. The problem of not meeting learning standards starts early, with some students behind in Year 3. An important question is whether these students eventually catch up to their peers.
Continued here
|
S13S14S155 tips for getting off gas at home - for a cleaner, cheaper, healthier all-electric future  Burning gas in our homes to cook food or heat air and water has become a contentious issue. Gas is an expensive, polluting fossil fuel, and there’s mounting evidence to suggest it’s also bad for our health. Five million existing Australian households will need to get off gas within the next 30 years. But for homeowners, the upfront cost can be a major barrier to action. Renters rarely get a say over the appliances installed in their homes. And apartment owners can struggle to make individual changes too.
Continued here
|
S16S17Just the beginning: 7 ways the Women's World Cup can move the dial on women's sport forever  Fiona Crawford has worked in and around football for more than a decade, including having previously worked for Football Federation Australia/Football Australia.So, that’s it then. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted on Australian and New Zealand soil for the first time, came to an end on Sunday night as Spain beat England 1-0 in the final, after the Matildas lost 2-0 to Sweden on Saturday to finish fourth, their best ever result.
Continued here
|
S18S19S20Hopes fade for 'room temperature superconductor' LK-99, but quantum zero-resistance research continues  The past few weeks have seen a huge surge of interest among scientists and the public in a material called LK-99 after it was claimed to be a superconductor at room temperature and ambient pressure.The potential discovery drew enthusiasm on social media and was widely reported in traditional media too. As a physicist working on quantum phenomena in materials, I was gratified to see the interest in superconductivity, and I shared in the excitement about the report. But I also approached the results with scepticism, especially since many previous reports of room-temperature superconductivity have failed to be reproduced.
Continued here
|
S21S22What harm could one coal mine do? Plenty - 1.7 million Hiroshima bombs of heat for starters  This year, the Australian government rejected Clive Palmer’s coal mine proposal – but approved three others. Over 100 more fossil fuel projects are in the decision pipeline. Why are we still approving coal projects when climate impacts are intensifying? There is, as the International Energy Agency has pointed out, no place for new fossil fuels if we have a chance of holding global heating to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. Our existing fossil fuel infrastructure is enough to blow our remaining carbon budget.
Continued here
|
S23S24S25S26S27LNP takes lead in Queensland Resolve poll, but Labor still far ahead in Victoria  Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October 2024. A Resolve poll for The Brisbane Times, conducted from May to August with a sample of 947, gave the Liberal National Party 38% of the primary vote (up five since January to April), Labor 32% (down three), the Greens 11% (down one), One Nation 8% (up one), independents 8% (down two) and others 3% (up one).
Continued here
|
S28S29A Modern Fable About Time, Narrative, and Real Estate  Has there ever been a better time to write a novel that’s all about space? Always a literal unit of power (see: private property), it now seems to be our preferred figurative metric, too: the most annoying guest at your dinner party takes up too much of it, the most diplomatic participant at your staff meeting is careful to make more of it, and everyone has an opinion about whether it matters if it’s safe. In this contested landscape, Hilary Leichter’s second novel, “Terrace Story” (Ecco), has a suitably small footprint—at under two hundred pages, it won’t strain a Marie Kondo-ed shelf—but turns out to be a capacious container for our space-related concerns.There’s real estate, of course: you’ll meet Annie and Edward, cash-strapped new parents, in a shoebox city apartment. There’s the metaphoric geography of intimacy, too: you’ll meet George and Lydia in a marriage full of “blind alleys and impasses.” And then there’s the Muskian frontier: you’ll find Rosie in outer space—a futuristic suburb orbiting Earth—because the planet is having some capacity issues.
Continued here
|
S30These Gut Microbes Are Crucial To Well-Being -- What To Eat To Cultivate Them  The age-old adage “you are what you eat” holds profound truth. Nearly every molecule in your body is absorbed by what you eat and drink. Your food choices are directly linked to your physical, emotional, and social health. And scientists are learning that your gut health and the microbial communities within you have a significant role to play in orchestrating these processes.The gut microbiome takes the components of food that you cannot digest, like fiber and phytonutrients, and transforms them into signals that regulate how hungry you are, how strong your immune system is, and even how you think and feel. It’s as though the communities in your gut microbiome are an orchestra for your health, and you conduct their symphony through food.
Continued here
|
S3131 Years Later, Ahsoka Could Bring Back the Strangest Evil Plot in Star Wars  Thrawn’s blue fingerprints are all over Ahsoka, and not just because he’s the main villain. From the first teaser trailer when Ahsoka uttered the words “Heir to the Empire,” the name of the first novel Thrawn appeared in, it was clear series writer Dave Filoni was going to pull from Thrawn’s non-canon Legends narrative as much as possible without clashing with the existing Star Wars timeline. But just how much can truly be pulled from Thrawn’s books? One key threat could play a huge role and honor Thrawn’s origins, while still adding something completely new to Star Wars canon. Here’s how.
Continued here
|
S325 Reasons 'Modern Warfare 3' Could Be the Best Call of Duty Since 'Black Ops 2'  All aboard the Modern Warfare 3 hype train! Following the game’s reveal as part of the Shadow Siege event in Warzone (along with previous confirmations), there’s so much we know about the upcoming game. By and large, Modern Warfare 3 seems like it will be a major step up from recent entries, thanks to a boatload of features and improvements over previous installments. These include gameplay adjustments, quality-of-life additions, and an emphasis on nostalgia that we hope will come together in the best way possible. Below, we’ll dive into some of the standout features coming to Modern Warfare 3.
Continued here
|
S33The 5 Most Luxurious EVs Money Can Buy  Electric cars aren’t just for the eco-conscious anymore. Sometimes they’re big; sometimes they’re futuristic; sometimes they’re even fancy. In fact, sometimes they’re really fancy.And yes, you may not ever make Elon Musk money, but just ogling luxurious cars is a pastime in and of itself — and man, are there a lot ogle. It’s not just Tesla’s game anymore, either. Tried and true luxury brands like Cadillac and Rolls-Royce also have their say in the future of electric EV luxury.
Continued here
|
S34You Need to Play the Most Underrated Pok  It was the year 2000, and Nintendo needed a vision of the future to match. The once-dominant gaming juggernaut had found itself in a four-way battle with Sega, Sony, and Microsoft. Each of these companies had its own strengths and weaknesses, but Nintendo was feeling the heat. The Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 had already launched, the Xbox was on its way. While Nintendo maintained dominance in the mobile market, it was clear that the once-revolutionary N64 was in its last days.The company was betting on its annual Space World exhibition, where it would unveil its next-generation GameCube. Footage from the event shows latex-clad models holding the device, clips of 128 Marios running around, and a demo called “Meowth’s Party” to show the device’s technical capabilities in front of a crowd of 2,000 or so.
Continued here
|
S35Depression Treatments Have Ignored One Understudied Symptom  It’s often thought that if someone is depressed, they will feel sad or low most of the time.It’s often thought that if someone is depressed, they will feel sad or low most of the time. But what many don’t realize is that these aren’t the only symptoms of depression. Another common symptom of depression that is sometimes overlooked is the feeling that you no longer find the things you used to enjoy to be interesting or pleasurable.
Continued here
|
S36Of All the Cheap Home Upgrades on Amazon, These Are the Most Impressive  Over the past several months, I’ve spent just about every free minute I have making upgrades to my home. Sure, some projects were expensive and challenging, but believe it or not, when people come over, those aren’t the first things they notice. Instead, they say things like, “Everything’s so organized,” and “It’s so bright and airy in here,” and “Did you replace this bathtub?” (I didn’t.) In other words, sometimes the easiest, cheapest home improvement projects make the biggest difference. Some clutter-reducing organizers, upgraded bedding, cleaning products that actually work, and a few new light fixtures go a really long way. And since Amazon has tons of brilliant products that improve the aesthetic and functionality of your home, you never even have to leave the house.
Continued here
|
S37The Future of Clean Energy Could Be Beamed Down from Space  The idea has been around for decades, but space-based solar power is closer to reality now than ever.The idea of space-based solar power (SBSP) — using satellites to collect energy from the sun and “beam” it to collection points on Earth — has been around since at least the late 1960s. Despite its huge potential, the concept has not gained sufficient traction due to cost and technological hurdles.
Continued here
|
S38A Doctor Explains Why Women Get More Migraines Than Men -- And How To Relieve Them  A migraine is far more than just a headache — it’s a debilitating disorder of the nervous system.People who have migraines experience severe throbbing or pulsating pain, typically on one side of the head. The pain is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light or sound. An attack may last for hours or days, and to ease the suffering, some people spend time isolated in dark, quiet rooms.
Continued here
|
S39These 50 Strange Products Are Suddenly Getting Wildly Popular on Amazon  Looking to shop without breaking the bank? Check out this list of unique, affordable products that are getting so popular on Amazon right now. I’ll be the first to admit: Some of these items might seem a little strange at first. But don't be afraid to embrace the quirkier side of life — explore the unexpected yet practical wonders that await you on this list. They’re popular for a reason. From home goods to skin care, add a touch of whimsy to your world with these useful, budget-friendly finds.
Continued here
|
S40The Biggest Cinematic Event of 2023 Proves a Brutal Truth About Superhero Movies  It’s the Summer of Barbenheimer and we’re all just living in the shadow of its hot pink mushroom cloud. The double whammy of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer offered audiences one of the most exciting cinema double bills since long before the pandemic, and they came out in droves for both. Now, Barbie is the second highest-grossing movie of 2023 so far, and Oppenheimer, a three-hour biographical drama about the Manhattan Project, has grossed more money than The Little Mermaid and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.The frenzy this double bill inspired, from themed parties and cocktails to the best memes of the season, drove home the genuine desire that film lovers had for something they could truly sink their teeth into. Sure, one is based on a toy and the other is a pretty traditional biopic, but both films represented a kind of change that we needed in the pop culture landscape. One such yearning: more stand-alone movies!
Continued here
|
S41Slum photos were weaponised against the people they depict | Aeon Essays  is a PhD candidate in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, Wales. She lives in London.A photograph taken in 1880 by Bedford Lemere, a renowned architectural photography firm of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shows a dimly lit courtyard, narrow and surrounded on three sides by worn brick buildings. Uneven paving stones lead to a passageway, through which, barely visible, a man and a child watch the photographer from a distance, while a spectral presence in the foreground reveals itself to be another person, their form blurred, suggesting they moved during the long exposure time a camera of the era required. The photograph pictures Jerusalem Court in Clerkenwell, London. Most likely, it was commissioned by the Clerkenwell vestry to earmark Jerusalem Court as an area ‘unfit for human habitation’ – a phrase used by housing inspectors to describe dwellings deemed unhealthy for residents to live in. In the annual report for 1899, a special committee, commissioned by the Clerkenwell vestry to examine the condition of courts and blind alleys in the area, states that, according to ‘medical men’, the block of dwellings on the north side of Jerusalem court is ‘very unhealthy, without through ventilation, and such as should never have been built’.
Continued here
|
S42Inside the unique creative space where 'outsider' artists find their form | Aeon Videos  Founded in 1974 at the height of the US disability-rights movement, the Creative Growth Art Center is an Oakland-based nonprofit organisation that ‘advances the inclusion of artists with developmental disabilities in contemporary art’. For the organisation’s director Tom di Maria, this means helping to fill in the gaps in a public education system that leaves behind those with disabilities, but also taking their artistic development seriously in an art world that has, historically, marginalised such artists. And, as di Maria notes in this peak behind the centre’s walls, the project has produced some incredible success stories, including that of the US artist Judith Scott (1943-2005), who was born with Down’s syndrome, had undiagnosed deafness and never developed language. However, as the film details, Scott ultimately found a new way to communicate with the world when she discovered fibre sculpture at the Arts Center, and has since been widely celebrated for her work.Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them
Continued here
|
S43S44Making the Case for the Resources Your Team Needs  Advocating for resources goes beyond the act of getting a “yes” to acquire more tools, personnel, or funds. It represents a deep commitment to your team’s success. It shows those you lead that you’re someone who understands their challenges, values their efforts, and is willing to champion their needs. Plus, with more resources at your disposal, your team can work more efficiently, innovate more effectively, and deliver higher-quality results, directly contributing to the bottom line. In this article, the author offers tips to help you make a compelling case.
Continued here
|
S45Earth's newest 'baby volcano'  On the afternoon of 10 July, the Earth cracked open. Three fissures appeared north-east of the base of Litli-Hrútur – a small mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula in south-western Iceland – and began to spew molten lava high into the air accompanied by plumes of gas.Iceland's latest eruption wasn't a total shock; Litli-Hrútur (which translates to "Little Ram") is part of the Fagradalsfjall volcanic area that erupted in March 2021 and August 2022 after a break of almost 800 years, and the surrounding area had been shaking for several days with more than 12,000 earthquakes recorded prior the start of the eruption.
Continued here
|
S46How coin tosses can lead to better decisions  If you're anything like me then you might experience mild analysis paralysis when choosing what to order from an extensive menu. I am so indecisive that the waiter often has to come back a few minutes after taking everyone else's order to finally hear mine. Many of the choices seem good, but by trying to ensure I select the absolute best, I run the risk of missing out altogether.Even before the internet brought unprecedented consumer options directly into our homes and the phones in the palms of our hands, choice had long been seen as the driving force of capitalism. The ability of consumers to choose between competing providers of products and services dictates which businesses thrive and which bite the dust – or so goes the long-held belief. The competitive environment engendered by consumers' free choice supposedly drives innovation and efficiency, delivering a better overall consumer experience.
Continued here
|
S47S48S49The Prepared Leader: The Five Phases of Crisis Management  In an excerpt from their book ‘The Prepared Leader,’ Erika James and Lynn Perry Wooten lay down five steps to becoming a more prepared leader in times of crisis. In The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before, two crisis leadership experts — Wharton Dean Erika H. James and Lynn Perry Wooten, president of Simmons University — provide tools and frameworks for addressing and learning from crises. In the following excerpt from their book, James and Wooten identify the five phases of crisis management.
Continued here
|
S50What Do You Really Know About Your Customer Base?  In an excerpt from their book ‘The Customer-Base Audit,’ Peter Fader, Bruce Hardie, and Michael Ross ask critical questions to help you gauge how much you really understand about your customers’ buying behavior.As a leader in your organization, you will be very familiar with your organization’s key financial statements and monthly management reports. But what do you really know the people who pull out their wallets and pay for your products and services? In The Customer-Base Audit: The First Step on the Journey to Customer Centricity, experts Peter Fader, Bruce Hardie, and Michael Ross start you on the path toward really getting to understand your customers’ buying behavior as well as the health of your overall customer base. In this excerpt from their book, the authors ask some challenging questions, and make the argument that to answer them, you will need to conduct your own customer-base audit.
Continued here
|
S51The Best Fitness Trackers and Watches for Everyone  If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDLike every piece of gear you wear on your body day in and day out, fitness trackers are incredibly personal. They have to be comfortable and attractive, sure, but they must also fit your lifestyle, as well as when and how you like to work out. Do you bike, row, or do strength training? Do you run on trails for hours at a time, or do you just want a reminder to get up every hour?
Continued here
|
S52How to Stream Every NFL Football Game  Out of all the major sports, NFL football (that's American gridiron football to you, world) has long been the toughest, most convoluted to watch unless you're following the home team using an antenna. Don't expect it to change anytime soon either—the NFL signed decade-long deals with several television networks last year. But you don't have to resort to a Hail Mary yet. We've searched and found the best places to stream NFL football games this season.Be sure to check out our other buying guides, including the Best Streaming Devices, Best TVs, and Best Soundbars to watch the game in style.
Continued here
|
S53The Lawlessness of Large Numbers  So far this year, Quanta has chronicled three major advances in Ramsey theory, the study of how to avoid creating mathematical patterns. The first result put a new cap on how big a set of integers can be without containing three evenly spaced numbers, like {2, 4, 6} or {21, 31, 41}. The second and third similarly put new bounds on the size of networks without clusters of points that are either all connected, or all isolated from each other.The proofs address what happens as the numbers involved grow infinitely large. Paradoxically, this can sometimes be easier than dealing with pesky real-world quantities.
Continued here
|
S54Three strange takes on the philosophy of music  Music is a universal human experience. From banal elevator music to soul-shaking symphonies, music is anywhere and everywhere. It shouldn’t be a surprise, therefore, that philosophers had something to say about it — though some of their ideas were a little odd. Let’s consider three of them.Plato was a student of Socrates. While many of his ideas serve as the foundations of Western philosophy, his takes on music were especially curious. Plato thought music was valuable because it imitates our emotions. He argued that it could be used to improve education and the moral fiber of society. But, like a grumpy grandpa, he also blamed changing musical tastes for the rejection of authority and subsequent unrest that followed the Persian War.
Continued here
|
S55Termite mounds inspire climate-friendly air conditioning  Inspired by the networks of tunnels found in termite mounds, a pair of researchers has shown how smart building materials could be used to improve air circulation in indoor spaces, without drawing any power. Their discovery could lead to a far cheaper, and more sustainable, alternative to air conditioning.The challenge: As our planet heats up, the need to keep our indoor spaces cool and comfortable is becoming more and more critical every year, as heat waves become longer and hotter. Today, buildings in warm climates around the world rely heavily on air conditioning, but this consumes a vast amount of energy.
Continued here
|
S56What the Polls May Be Getting Wrong About Trump  New research suggests that the criminal charges against Trump aren’t actually helping him in the GOP primary race.In the months since Donald Trump’s indictments started piling up, pollsters have noticed something remarkable: The dozens of criminal charges brought against the former president have seemed to boost his standing in the Republican presidential primary. Trump has widened his already commanding lead over his rivals, and in poll after poll, GOP voters have said that the charges make them more—not less—likely to vote for him again.
Continued here
|
S57A TV Drama That's Aged Surprisingly Well  This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained.
Continued here
|
S58Trump Is Beatable in Iowa  The recent history of the Iowa Republican caucus offers the candidates chasing former President Donald Trump one big reason for optimism. But that history also presents them with an even larger reason for concern.In each of the past three contested GOP nomination fights, Iowa Republicans have rejected the candidate considered the national front-runner in the race, as Trump is now. Instead, in each of those three past caucuses, Iowa Republicans delivered victory to an alternative who relied primarily on support from the state’s powerful bloc of evangelical Christian conservatives.
Continued here
|
S59Don't Underestimate the Japanese Beetle  On an early July day, Amber Betts spent the afternoon in the community rose garden in Grandview, Washington. Several weeks earlier, invasive Japanese beetles had emerged in droves everywhere in Grandview, a town in central Washington’s Yakima Valley. The infestation had since quieted, but she still spotted a few insects: A cluster of fingernail-size iridescent green beetles, their coppery wings shining, were devouring a rose.Unchecked, Japanese beetles’ numbers can skyrocket, and the insects can do extensive damage to plants, Betts, a public-information officer at the Washington State Department of Agriculture, told me. Cherries and hops, which collectively generated more than $800 million of revenue for the state last year, are among the 300 plants the beetles are known to eat. Although a population has taken up residence in Grandview, the beetles have not yet spread throughout Washington. Greg Haubrich, the manager of the pest program at the state’s department of agriculture, told me that officials are trying to eliminate the insect from the entire state. “We still do have a good chance of eradicating this,” he said.
Continued here
|
S60Women's Soccer Won the World Cup  During the era of American dominance in women’s soccer, success was largely a product of athleticism, fitness, and bursts of individual skill. The triumph of Spain, which won the World Cup today, represents an evolutionary leap forward, a higher level of refinement and technique. Aitana Bonmati, Spain’s midfield brain and the player of the tournament, dominated games with subtle flicks and visionary through balls; teammates rotated around her intricately.Indeed, Spain’s performance in this World Cup can be read not only as a tremendous sporting victory but as a polemical thrashing of an argument frequently wielded to disparage the women’s game compared with the men’s. As National Review’s writer Charles C. W. Cooke recently put it, “It’s not good sports.” The final had exactly what he accused the women’s game of lacking: a fascinating clash of tactics played with speed and mesmeric flow, tense and fierce.
Continued here
|
S61How Brand Building and Performance Marketing Can Work Together  Marketers often worry that performance marketing and its focus on short-term sales is crowding out brand-building activities aimed at enhancing customer perceptions of their brand—and is sometimes working against brand strategy.Brand-building activities are typically measured using metrics that have no predictive or retrospective connection to financial returns. And performance marketing typically lacks measures that account for its impact on brand building, focusing only on sales, leads, and clicks.
Continued here
|
S62When Blind Hiring Advances DEI -- and When It Doesn't  As a decision-making strategy, “blind hiring” involves blocking evaluators from receiving potentially biasing information about a job candidate until after an evaluation of their application materials are complete. Most famously, the tactic was used to boost the hiring of women in orchestras by having people audition from behind a screen that concealed their gender. But there’s a body of research that’s been conducted since that 2000 study showing that, while the strategy is generally effective, there are situations in which it might not help you diversify your candidate pool. The author outlines this research, and suggests three questions you should ask in order to get the most out of a blind hiring approach.Inspired by the results of the famous orchestra study — where symphony orchestras began hiring more women by having people audition from behind a screen that concealed their gender — some major organizations are now using a “blind hiring” strategy to help achieve goals related to diversity. The typical blind hiring process involves stripping information from job application materials before review that could signal applicants’ memberships in specific groups and cue discrimination. Though not yet widespread, this de-biasing strategy is gaining traction: A recent survey of over 800 U.S.-based HR practitioners indicated that about 20% worked for organizations that used blind hiring and about 60% were familiar with it.
Continued here
|
S63Into the Blue Beyond: William Beebe's Dazzling Account of Becoming the First Human Being to See the Deep Ocean  Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.“Who has known the ocean? Neither you nor I, with our earth-bound senses,” Rachel Carson wrote in her pioneering essay Undersea in an era when the deep ocean was more mysterious than the Moon. The essay became the basis of her lyrical 1951 book The Sea Around Us, which won her the National Book Award and which she dedicated to William Beebe (July 29, 1877–June 4, 1962) — the visionary naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, and explorer who in the 1930s became the Poseidon of deep sea exploration.Diving off the coast of Bermuda in the Bathysphere — a pioneering spherical deep-sea submersible that looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel, named after the Greek word for “deep”: bathús — Beebe became the first scientist to observe the creatures of the deep in their native environment.
Continued here
|
S643 Strategies for Making Better, More Informed Decisions  As humans, we tend to interpret information in a way that confirms our existing beliefs and serves our own self-interest. In situations that lack clarity, we often make assumptions that serve to bolster our egos and self-esteem. We selectively interpret information to support our own position, and overlook or dismiss information that contradicts our views. This is known as the self-serving bias, and it can lead to suboptimal decision-making or even contribute to conflict, as we become more entrenched in our own positions and less willing to consider alternative perspectives. The author offers three strategies to help you combat this bias: 1) Consider the source of the information you’re relying on; 2) Think counterfactually about previous decisions you’ve made; and 3) Seek out information that challenges your assumptions.
Continued here
|
S65Good Leadership Is About Asking Good Questions  Especially when they find themselves in the midst of crisis and uncertainty, leaders should ask powerful and inspiring questions. Asking questions well can put you on the path to solving intractable problems and will also help you connect with others and, counterintuitively, to earn their trust. Those questions should be big in scope: What new opportunities have emerged that we don’t want to miss? How might we use new technologies to change our business model? And you should involve others in answering those questions —employees, stakeholders, and even customers. Doing so can not only help you generate better answers, it can also help you to change your organization’s culture.
Continued here
|
S66Yellowknife and Kelowna wildfires burn in what is already Canada's worst season on record  The devastating wildfire that destroyed the historic Maui town of Lahaina in Hawaii was still making headlines when the Northwest Territories issued an evacuation order for Yellowknife and British Columbia declared a provincewide state of emergency.All 22,000 residents of Yellowknife are being evacuated in advance of a wall of flame from out-of-control wildfires converging on the capital city. Yet this isn’t the first time an entire Canadian town has been cleared.
Continued here
|
S67Civilian support for military coups is rising in parts of Africa: why the reasons matter  On the night of 13 January 1963, Togo’s President Sylvanus Olympio was shot dead by rebels in the first military coup staged in Africa. A long list, as shown below, was to come. From the 1960s to the end of the millennium, there were an average of four military coups a year on the continent. By the end of the 1990s this phenomenon seemed to have faded away. First came Mali, in August 2020. The military took advantage of social unrest and insecurity caused by the activities of violent extremists. Mali had two coups or attempts in a nine-month span.
Continued here
|
S68Bringing Up Lady Bird  I have fallen in love with a chicken. She is a Columbian Wyandotte, with that breed’s distinctive hackles of white feathers streaked with black, draping her bodice like a jagged jet necklace. She has a scissor beak—a crossed beak—and has had it from birth. I remember noticing the beak when she was a baby, hoping that she’d outgrow it, thinking she was such a beautiful bird except for that unfortunate beak. I never bothered to look up the condition.Like so many other people around the country, my family and I bought chicks at the start of the pandemic. It was one of the first things we did as the world shut down and we moved from New York City to my mother’s farm in rural New Jersey. We bought fifteen chicks to start, a variety of breeds chosen for the colorful eggs they would lay. We raised them in the kitchen, first in big plastic tubs with heating lamps, then in a large dog crate that we padded with straw. Across the crate, we rested a bamboo pole so they could roost.
Continued here
|
S70Fani Willis's Indictment of Donald Trump and a Voting-System Breach  On Monday night, when Georgia's Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, released her forty-one-count, ninety-eight-page indictment of nineteen people who allegedly conspired to subvert the 2020 Presidential election in that state, the spotlight was on the most prominent suspects: former President Donald Trump, his chief of staff Mark Meadows, and his lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Sidney Powell. Here, according to the indictment, was the President of the United States conspiring to overturn the results of a legitimate election, abetted by officers of the court who themselves conspired to subvert the law of the land. Then there are the other defendants, whom those at the top allegedly relied on to help carry out various plots. Three of themâScott Hall, Misty Hampton, and Cathleen Lathamâare charged, along with Powell, in the indictment, which states that "several of the Defendants corruptly conspired" and "stole data, including ballot images, voting equipment software and personal voter information" in Coffee County, a rural outpost in the southeastern corner of the state, two hundred miles from Atlanta. Since all of Georgia uses the same Dominion voting machines and software, this theft provided access to the entire election system in the state. According to the indictment, the software was then shared with people around the country, some of whom are cited by Willis as unindicted co-conspirators. In March, according to the Los Angeles Times, during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, a small group of people, and many others online, watched a presentation using the stolen software, suggesting that it is still circulating among those who aim to assist Trump in his current benighted quest to recapture the Presidency.According to the indictment, the Coffee County breach occurred a day after the January 6, 2021, insurrection, when Latham, who was then the chair of the Coffee County G.O.P. and one of sixteen fake Georgia electors who tried to replace the certified electors on Trump's behalf, ushered into the elections office four computer-forensics experts from the Atlanta office of SullivanStrickler, which, according to an invoice, billed Powell for its services. (SullivanStrickler is not accused of any wrongdoing in the indictment, and the firm has stated that "it had no reason to believe" that it had done anything illegal. Latham could not be reached for comment.) This action was not covert. As a January 1st text from Katherine Friess, a lawyer on Trump's legal team, noted, "Huge things are starting to come together! Most immediately, we were granted access - by written invitation! - to the Coffee County systens [sic]. Yay!"Â Surveillance video from January 7th shows that the office was a hive of activity. In addition to Latham and the SullivanStrickler employees, Hampton, who was the elections supervisor, and Scott Hall, an Atlanta-area bail bondsman and pro-Trump poll watcher, were also present. Video from over the course of a few days shows Doug Logan, the C.E.O. of the now defunct company Cyber Ninjas, which conducted a widely derided review of ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Jeffrey Lenberg, a computer analyst from New Mexico who had articulated a number of unfounded claims about Trump winning the election, making repeated visits to the Coffee County elections office. Once copies of the Dominion Voting Systems software were made, they were uploaded to a server at SullivanStrickler, and then downloaded by others.
Continued here
|
 |
TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives About Us | Advertise Privacy Policy Unsubscribe (one-click) You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs.
Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India |
